Dr. McKellar’s Lesson for January 21, 2024

Tracing the Rainbow through the Rain

Genesis 9:1-17

1. Setting

• post-flood proclamations
• key emphases: God’s insistence and God’s initiative

2. Renewal of Blessing 1-7

• pronouncement repeated
• provision of food
• prohibition regarding blood (Lev. 17:11, Acts 15:28-29)
• prohibition regarding taking life (Rom. 13:4)

3. Establishment of Covenant 8-17

• promise of preservation
• provision of protection
• pledged with a sign (Rev. 4:1-3, 10:1)

4. So What?

• Because of the reminder that life is precious to God, aim to promote, preserve and protect it.
• “History is God’s highway to an appointed future.” (Piper)
• connection to Christ: Heb. 9:26
• “O joy that seekest me through pain, I cannot close my heart to Thee. I trace the rainbow through the rain, and feel the promise is not vain, that morn shall tearless be. O Cross that liftest up my head, I dare not ask to fly from Thee. I lay in dust, life’s glory dead, and from the ground there blossoms red, life that shall endless be.” (G. Matheson, “O Love That Wilt Not Let Me Go”)